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Monday's Health Winners & Losers

AngioDynamics edges higher.

AngioDynamics ( ANGO) said a company it's set to acquire received regulatory clearance for a technology used in the surgical removal of certain types of body tissue. Shares of AngioDynamics edged up 0.4% to $22.10.

The Food and Drug Administration granted Oncobionic approval to market irreversible electroporation technology, which uses needles and image guidance to target cells. The process is similar to existing thermal ablation technologies, but instead of "cooking" or "freezing" the targeted tissue, irreversible electroporation disrupts the cell membrane, thereby destroying the targeted cells.

The impaired cells are then left in the body to be removed by the immune system.

AngioDynamics has announced plans to buy Oncobionic for $5 million in cash, plus an additional $20 million to be paid over two years, pending the achievement of certain milestones. AngioDynamics expects to market a product using irreversible electroporation technology in mid-2008.

The FDA approval "is an important step in achieving our goal of becoming the world leader in image-guided focal tumor therapy," said Eamonn Hobbs, president and chief executive of AngioDynamics.

AngioDynamics also reiterated its expectation that research and development expenses in 2007 will be 8.3% of sales.

The company's ColonCAR technology will help radiologists locate and measure polyps, which are abnormal growths that can lead to cancer. Once suspected polyps are found, the software can determine shape and features and automatically measure diameter and volume.